Tag: Medicaid

Soundtrack for today’s RoundUp pessimist readers- http://bit.ly/2VnKiQ8

For optimist readers- http://bit.ly/2Vm4O3f

(Special Mother’s Day song selections)

YOU WILL ACCEPT MEDICAID WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT- Clark County (NV) passed an ordinance this week that requires any new ERs to take Medicaid (and Medicare). Magically, existing ERs / hospitals don’t have to comply.

HUMANA TO CENTENE: “IF THAT WELLCARE THING DOES’T WORK OUT, TAKE A CHANCE ON ME”- Hedge funds with important stakes in Centene have voiced second thoughts about the recently announced WellCare deal. Smelling opportunity, Humana has batted its doe-eyes at Centene. Centene shares up; WellCare shares down. More to come.

 

OK WE’RE GONNA START CHECKING INCOME FOR REALS, YALL- Louisiana reps are moving forward with a bill that will – wait for it- connect Medicaid eligibility systems to federal tax data to verify income eligibility. Where are all the kudos from the people telling me interoperable big data is the answer to everything? Can I get an Amen? The space-age tech comes on the heels of highly publicized news of LA having to kick 30k members off the rolls for earning too much money (some of them six figures). #Resist!

 

GROUNDHOG DAY: NORIDIAN WINS IOWA MMIS CONTRACT, AGAIN- Yet another snub to the whole modular / let’s shake things up and get some fresh blood in the MMIS world movement. Noridian (congrats, btw) won the Iowa MMIS contract again. It has held it since 2004.

 

FASTER WAIVERS- CMS approved waivers in 16% less time in 2018 compared to 2016. New reports coming out of Madame Verma’s office show that long overdue bureaucratic reforms are working. 78% of waivers are now approved within the first 90-day review period. And the backlog of pending state plan amendments is now down 80%.

 

LOOKING LIKE LIMITED EXPANSION WILL PAY AT SAME RATE AS FULL ACA EXPANSION, SUCKERS! –  I have sat through nearly a decade of obnoxious taunts from blue states to red states about being fools for not taking the awesome federal gravy train money deal for expansion. Seems like hold outs may have the last laugh- not only will they possibly get the same FMAP (90%) under a more responsible, limited expansion on their own terms – they also got to sit out of the spending orgy that got all those expansion states even more addicted to the federal teat from 2010 to 2016. CMS is saying its open to paying 90% of costs of “conservative” expansion plans like the ones being asked for in GA (that go up to 100% FPL vs 133/8). The Peach State plans to submit its waiver to CMS by the end of the year.

 

VOLUNTEER STATE MOVES FORWARD WITH BLOCK GRANTS; PEARLS CLUTCHED- State reps passed a bill that gets the governor to submit an 1115 to CMS to convert TennCare into a fixed-payment program (vs the open-ended, spend forever, drive-it-like-you-stole-it normal model). Similar to what Utah did in February. Other sources report that CMS is expecting more states to request a block-grant conversion, and the agency is drafting guidance on how to make the ask.

 

WE, LIKE, TOTALLY VOTED FOR THE SIMPLE EXPANSION, MAN! GIVE US THE SIMPLE ONE NOT THIS COMPLEX MEDICAID STUFF- You can’t blame voters in Nebraska for thinking the work in expanding Medicaid was done when they filled in their ballot bubble. Everything is oversimplified for the electorate, and healthcare is no exception. Problem is somebody must pay for what they thought they were ordering off the taxpayer menu. In their minds they were getting the Porterhouse for 100,000 of their newest Medicaid card-carrying friends. In reality there’s no budget for Porterhouse, so voters may end up ordering off the kids menu. What do you do when you don’t get what you want in modern America? Sue! And that’s of course where this is going… Resisters have already fired up the outrage machine and are threatening litigation.

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THE MEDICAID BLACK BOOK IS HERE- Want to know what’s on the mind of MCO CEOs? Want to see our in-depth reviews of vendors? Current issue is out. You can check it out here – http://www.mostlymedicaid.com/?product=medicaidblackbook

COME HANG OUT IN BALTO IN MAY– I’ll be speaking and generally gallivanting at the Medicaid Managed Care Congress May 20-22^nd in Baltimore. Would love to see you there. Check out the event here- http://bit.ly/2ZsRcqd

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FARRIS’S FANTASTIC FRAUD FOLLIES– And now for everybody’s favorite paragraph. The paragraph taxpayers love to hate. Let’s start the ticker and see who wins this week’s award (record scratch sound)- not so fast this week dear readers. I wrote too much above and need to land this plane.

Need even more Medicaid fraud stories? – You can get your fix in the FWA Curator archives.

Want to read the articles summarized here, highlighted for your reading pleasure? Check out the News Curator archives.

That’s it for this week. As always, please send me a note with your thoughts to clay@mostlymedicaid.com or give me a buzz at 919.727.9231. Get outside (thin things that are sprouting to the proper spacing- there’s info on that seed packet if you didn’t throw it away) and keep running the race (you know who you are).

FULL, FREE newsletter@ mostlymedicaid.com . News that didn’t make it and sources for those that did: twitter @mostlymedicaid .

Trystero: piyāṇan vahansē lōkayaṭa gaḷavannaṭa putrayā evū sēka

Soundtrack for today’s RoundUp pessimist readers- http://bit.ly/2UHMlOz

For optimist readers- http://bit.ly/2ULxAdG (absolutely incredible album, btw. If you ever find yourself driving all night, listen to this album all the way through)

THREE – COUNT EM’ – THREE PAYMENT MODELS FOR DUALS- Seems like we have some decisions being made on the results of all those FAI/duals demos. Last week CMS sent out a State Medicaid Director Letter pitching 3 options for covering duals moving forward. Option 1 is basically how the FAI demos worked – a 3-way contract with the federalis, an MCO and the state. Option 2 creates some weird thing where states and CMS “partner” to run fee for service programs for duals and share Medicare savings (you know, all those savings that fee for service is famous for). And Option 3 is a wildcard where states can cook something up not on the list. One thing I learned: less than 10 percent of duals are in a model that integrates Care/Caid services today.

SUNSHINE STATE STILL FIGURING OUT HOW TO PLEASE HOSPITAL BIGWIGS BUT LOOK LIKE THEY’RE NOT- Fiscal holdouts in FL have been trying to reduce Medicaid hospital spending by about 3%. That was the opening bid, anyway. Now lawmakers are saying maybe they won’t make the cut if they can get consensus on “resfhuffling” (that’s politician speak for “move the money to where the lobbyists tell me to”) $318M in Medicaid uncompensated care funds. Right now the fight hinges on whether to shell out the moola evenly to all hospitals (with an across the board up in base rates) or to distribute it based on who sees the most Medicaid patients (you know, the ones with the most uncompensated care). Problem is the ones who see the most are probably not the same ones sending lobbyists to the state house.

 

HANGING WITH MR. COOPER- Good Guvn’r Cooper of NC continues to hold a torch for expansion in the Tarheel State. If you look real close you can see him winking when he says “let’s talk expansion, then we’ll deal with details like work requirements.”

 

VOLUNTEER STATE EXPANDS MEDICAID FOR DISABLED KIDS, BUT ITS NOT THE TYPE OF MEDICAID EXPANSION LEFTIES WANT, SO CRICKETS- TN House Reps voted to use online shopping taxes to fund more services for more kids using the Katie Beckett waiver. Under their plan, $27M would go to help 3,000 kids with severe disabilities regardless of income. As of now the state Senate is not ok with the plan. So call moveon.org, or whatever your protest provider of choice is and make sure you get a flood of people with picket signs up in the TN statehouse.

 

$463M OVER BUDGET FOR MEDICAID, COOL. SPEND TINY AMOUNT TO CREATE NEW OFFICE TO GET SOME BETTER NUMBERS MOVING FORWARD? RESIST!!- Officials are still double-dog promising that the nearly half-a-billion overspend on Medicaid had nothing to do with expansion (they just happened to occur roughly at the same time). Even if that absurd claim were true, you would think a bill to establish an Office of Independent Medicaid Numbers (not the actual name, but you get it) would sail through. It did in the house, but not the senate. In case you need a reminder, taxpayer, your job is to pay, pay, pay. To ask for better oversight is downright Deplorable.

 

GOTSTA PAY BACK THAT CASH NURSING HOMES- Rhode Island fronted about $84M to nursing homes when they were working out problems with the application system. Now the loan has come due, but the nursing home lobby is saying they need more time (and they are suggetsing that the backlog might happen again). Loan repayments start in May, and they are supposed to pay most of it back by June 2020.

 

CONGRATS TO SOFTHEON IN WV- They just went live with their asset verification tool that integrates with the Medicaid eligibility system to check assets for Medicaid and SNAP applications. Out of 560,000 Medicaid bennies in WV, 350,000 also have SNAP so the overlap will help drive significant processing efficiencies for both programs.

 

KEYSTONE STATE CHECKING UNDER HOOD OF MEDICAID PROVIDERS- So this is new. The PA auditor general announced he will be randomly auditing Medicaid “contractors” (ie providers that are not docs) to make sure monies are not being wasted in the $33B program. Out of “thousands” of contractors, 6 will be in the first round of review.

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THE MEDICAID BLACK BOOK IS HERE- Want to know what’s on the mind of MCO CEOs? Want to see our in-depth reviews of vendors? Current issue is out. You can check it out here – http://www.mostlymedicaid.com/?product=medicaidblackbook

COME HANG OUT IN BALTO IN MAY– I’ll be speaking and generally gallivanting at the Medicaid Managed Care Congress May 20-22^nd in Baltimore. Would love to see you there. Check out the event here- http://bit.ly/2ZsRcqd

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FARRIS’S FANTASTIC FRAUD FOLLIES– And now for everybody’s favorite paragraph. The paragraph taxpayers love to hate. Let’s start the ticker and see who wins this week’s award. Jennifer Lynn Robinette of Gwinnett County, GA plead guilty to stealing $800K from residents of her Wishes 4 Me facility (housing people with physical and intellectual disabilities). She convinced them to open joint bank accounts and then took the cash. What’s the Medicaid connection? Ultimately the cash was from the GA Medicaid Independent Care Waiver Program. Move west on over to Baton Rouge, LA where we have a sizable member fraud. Naji and Shifa Abdelsalam failed to disclose their income from multimillion-dollar businesses and got about $74K in Medicaid benefits. Fun fact – one of the businesses they own is Five Star Medical, a Medicaid transport company. And – wait for it – they were stealing Medicaid bucks with that, too. Stick in LA for a moment more – Latoyia Porter of Covington, LA operated Walk With Me. Seems Walk With Me may have stolen more than $100K in Medicaid bucks by charging for counseling sessions that were not provided (or provided by underqualified staff). Now lets scoot on up to Maryland (but still below the Mason-Dixon line), where we find a case in which 5 cardiologists stole $81K by double-billing for similar procedures. In addition to testing for vein sufficiency (somebody with medical letters on their profile please comment what that means), they also billed for an older test for the same thing. Finally, let’s fly on over to Springfield, MO where we meet James Dye. Mr. Dye (technically Dr. Dye, which phonetically is much more ominous) was a dentist who stole $165k by billing $50 mouthguards as $700 “prosthetic devices.” Dr. Dye- you win on sheer hutzpah alone. Taxpayer, you know the drill.

That’s it for this week. As always, please send me a note with your thoughts to clay@mostlymedicaid.com or give me a buzz at 919.727.9231. Get outside (stare at the ground and watch seedling sprout, its good for the soul and better than checking email) and keep running the race (you know who you are).

FULL, FREE newsletter@ mostlymedicaid.com . News that didn’t make it and sources for those that did: twitter @mostlymedicaid .

Trystero: u yuum tu túuxtaj yaal le paal utia’al salvar yóok’ol kaabe’

Soundtrack for today’s RoundUp pessimist readers- http://bit.ly/2ZsqNJq

For optimist readers- http://bit.ly/2y9t7L7

MEDICAID PROGRAMS TO START COVERING CIGARETTES AS BENEFIT- Might as well, we’re still paying for all the results of Medicaid bennies smoking. New numbers out show we could save $2.6B if just 1% of Medicaid smokers quit.  On average states would save $25M (which is enough to put a dent in some of the state costs of expansion). To me this one is like fraud – do some fixin’ on it before you pass the hat for more, more, more, evermore tax dollars.

 

MCO MAKES GIANT LEAP FORWARD TO IMPROVE PBM PRICING ISSUES-  CareSource made big news when it dropped its PBM and decided to partner up with Express Scripts under a new contract. Even bigger was the news they decided to give the state of Ohio an unredacted copy of the contract, including all pricing info. You can’t get more transparent than that. Unless of course you’re some knucklehead journalist who somehow thinks not only state officials but all of the public should also have a copy of the contract. No good deed.

ROBERT MUELLER TO INVESTIGATE IOWA MCOS- He does have some time on his hands these days. Advocates in Iowa have been clamoring for years to get a special investigation into what they say is rampant service denial by MCOs. While the news stories are short on facts and long on mantras, you do have to wonder when you see things like the recent United exit.

KANSAS DECIDING WHETHER TO USE SURPLUS TO SPEND MORE ON MEDICAID HEALTHY ADULTS OR GIVE IT BACK TO THE PEOPLE PAYING FOR MEDICAID COSTS- Kansas tax revenues will be slightly less than 1% more than projected (must be this terrible economy), so lawmakers are doing their duty and figuring out what to do with the extra cash. The Good Guvn’r Kelly is softly messaging Tax Relief Bad, More Medicaid Good. Well maybe not so softly- she did veto a tax relief bill a few weeks back. Her numbers to pay for Medicaid expansion are around $34M net, so if she could maybe inspire 1% of Medicaid bennies to stop smoking, she could cover it (see lead article).

MONTANA EXPANSION FIGHT GETS INTERESTING- It has come down to straight up horse trading between saving coal jobs and expanding Medicaid. Maybe they need to review the tape of one our brightest luminaries to get some ideas.

MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY MAY BE TAKING TOO MUCH OF A CUT IN MEDICAID BUCKS FOR PROVIDERS’ LIKING- Best I can decipher of this one, it may be a UPL-type issue. Seems Wayne State University (Detroit) gets beau-coop Medicaid bucks in a draw-down meant to fund Medicaid services through its medical facilities. It then pays providers who perform those services. But turns out it may be keeping millions for itself as a middle-man fee. Which actually is entirely legal based on what I understand of the UPL (upper payment limit) regs. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t make the docs ticked when they find out they were shorted millions from the overall pot.

WAIT- YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO PAY FOR MEDICAID EXPANSION? NOBODY SAID ANYTHING ABOUT PAYING FOR IT- Idaho lawmakers now have the enviable job of paying for what voters bought back in November. One of the leading ideas on how to pay for expansion is to assess counties a fee based on how many Medicaid eligibles there are in that county. Makes sense, right? Well class, remember, we are not a group focused on logic unless it fits our own agenda. In reality, more of anything (including the Magic Wand of Medicaid Cards) costs more, and there will be winners and losers. In Idaho, 21 counties will pay less and 23 will pay more. And the pot will likely be property tax, which of course disproportionately impacts property owners… Some of them are not exactly happy, and I would wager may not have been in the 61% that voted yes on More Medicaid. But they just need to suck it up, and if we vote it in, we can force you to pay. Democracy and all.

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THE MEDICAID BLACK BOOK IS HERE- Want to know what’s on the mind of MCO CEOs? Want to see our in-depth reviews of vendors? Current issue is out. You can check it out here – http://www.mostlymedicaid.com/?product=medicaidblackbook

COME HANG OUT IN CHICAGO END OF APRIL- I’ll be speaking / chairing the 4^th Annual Medicaid Managed Care Leadership Summit, April 29-30^th in Chicago. If you are interested in going, send me a note so we can coordinate, and I can also get you a 15% off registration. Check out the event here- http://bit.ly/2Hf1vYl

COME HANG OUT IN BALTO IN MAY– I’ll be speaking and generally gallivanting at the Medicaid Managed Care Congress May 20-22^nd in Baltimore. Would love to see you there. Check out the event here- http://bit.ly/2ZsRcqd

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END SHAMELESS PLUG SECTION, RETURN TO AMAZING FREE INSIGHTS

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FARRIS’S FANTASTIC FRAUD FOLLIES– And now for everybody’s favorite paragraph. The paragraph taxpayers love to hate. Let’s start the ticker and see who wins this week’s award- er, not so fast readers. Not enough space this week. Check out some oldies but goodies in the archives (links below).

Need even more Medicaid fraud stories? – You can get your fix in the FWA Curator archives.

Want to read the articles summarized here, highlighted for your reading pleasure? Check out the News Curator archives.

 

That’s it for this week. As always, please send me a note with your thoughts to clay@mostlymedicaid.com or give me a buzz at 919.727.9231. Get outside (plant 300 square feet of sunflowers- I did!) and keep running the race (you know who you are).

FULL, FREE newsletter@ mostlymedicaid.com . News that didn’t make it and sources for those that did: twitter @mostlymedicaid .

Trystero: piyāṇan vahansē lōkayaṭa gaḷavannaṭa putrayā evū sēka

Soundtrack for today’s RoundUp pessimist readers- http://bit.ly/2U3uykk

For optimist readers- http://bit.ly/2U270we

IT WAS 50 FEET TALL AND CAME FROM ANOTHER PLANET! ATTACK OF THE GIANT MCO!! In case you haven’t heard, Centene is gobbling up WellCare for $17B. Will make them the biggest MCO in the universe. To be honest I was surprised- WellCare was doing well marching to the beat of its own drum (and I like that sort of thing). I am sure it will take a year to placate deal-reviewing bureaucrats, and probably another year before its really seen in market facing roles. And by then all MCOs will be sold to the new Walmart-Amazon-Costco conglomerate…

UHC IOWA EXIT- Not a lot of friends made by UHC on this one. UHC is filing for a divorce from Iowa Medicaid (more like just walking out and leaving the keys on the table by the door). There is a Dear John letter, though. You can read that here. Basically they blame the rates and go so far as to suggest a new way of doing the math. Surely it makes it a little easier on UHC to bail since AmeriHealth Caritas did it in October 2017- but I promise states don’t forget this type of thing.

WELL WE TOLD YOU THE NEW SYSTEM WAS GONNA FIX THOSE CRAZY BIG INELIGIBLE NUMBERS- Remember the stories of LA Medicaid paying like bazillions of Medicaid bucks for members who were not eligible? And remember that the answer was the tried and true “yeah, but the new thing is gonna fix it.” Looks like that was true. Louisiana’s new eligibility system dropped more than 30,000 people from the rolls this week. Almost all of them are non-elderly, non-disabled adults brought in under the Good Guvn’r Bel Edwards ginormous expansion in 2016. Secret sauce to the stronger, more accurate eligibility system in the Pelican State? It does quarterly checks (instead of sorta-kinda-maybe-annual ones) and uses more wage data to verify income.

ALASKA, IM GOTTA ASK YA– I totally did just make a rhyme with “Alaska”. How many times have you seen that in your life? (or heard that, I guess?). Well anyway, the thing I gotta ask ya, Alask-ya (its getting better by the sentence, isn’t it?) is – do you think you really will be the first state to convert your Medicaid program to a block grant? AK Good Guvn’r Dunleavy sent POTUS a letter asking for just that on March 1.

UTAH TO VOTERS- “WE DECIDED TO GO A DIFFERENT DIRECTION” – Seems conservative citizens aren’t the only ones who get screwed by their representatives. Lefty voters in Utah selected “lots more Medicaid at full ACA rates” on their ballots last year, but instead are getting a good bit more Medicaid, at 100% FPL levels. This could be the first “limited expansion” we keep hearing about, and that Verma is now letting us know CMS could be open to. (See also stories about the GA request).

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THE MEDICAID BLACK BOOK IS COMING- Want to know what’s on the mind of MCO CEOs? Want to see our in-depth reviews of vendors? Next issue comes out 4/15. You can see our latest explainer video for it here – http://www.mostlymedicaid.com/?product=medicaidblackbook

COME HANG OUT IN CHICAGO END OF APRIL- I’ll be speaking / chairing the 4^th Annual Medicaid Managed Care Leadership Summit, April 29-30^th in Chicago. If you are interested in going, send me a note so we can coordinate, and I can also get you a 15% off registration. Check out the event here- http://bit.ly/2Hf1vYl

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FARRIS’S FANTASTIC FRAUD FOLLIES– And now for everybody’s favorite paragraph. The paragraph taxpayers love to hate. Let’s start the ticker and see who wins this week’s award. Frank and Melanie Palcic of Pueblo, CO stole about $1M using their speech therapy service to submit bogus claims. Kevin Schaul of Springfield, MO was sentenced for his pilfery totaling $600k. How did he do it? False claims to Medicaid for incontinence products. Liem Do and wife Phuong Tran of Clark County, WA were ordered to pay $1M back to Medicaid for a long list of dental frauds. Looking for a good early summer fraud trial to watch? Head down to Miami, where Philip Esformes is on trial for a $1B Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Mr. Esformes is charged in a gigantic kickback scheme related to his network of assisted living facilities. This story even has a sub-plot about him paying a university to let his kid in, so you can get some of that good buzz from the current celebrity college fraud scandal, too. Mr. Esformes is fighting it though, so the drama will be high. One thing cool from this story- I learned that its so bad in Miami now, the city has actually become known as the “healthcare fraud capital in America.” Jeffrey Terry of Mangum, OK was indicted this week for using his pharmacy to steal $1M (from both Care and Caid). What did he do? Submitted phony claims for drugs that were never prescribed to patients. And finally, we come to Rose Presser of Milwaukee. Rose used her mental health clinic to steal $4.1M from Medicaid by running unnecessary urine tests through her substance abuse treatment program. So, if you were ever wondering if you can literally p*ss away $4.1M – you can. This week’s award goes to husband and wife team The Palcics. I just love a good love story, don’t you?

Need even more Medicaid fraud stories? – You can get your fix in the FWA Curator archives.

Want to read the articles summarized here, highlighted for your reading pleasure? Check out the News Curator archives.

That’s it for this week. As always, please send me a note with your thoughts to clay@mostlymedicaid.com or give me a buzz at 919.727.9231. Get outside (prepare garden beds; it won’t be long and we can plant!) and keep running the race (you know who you are).

FULL, FREE newsletter@ mostlymedicaid.com . News that didn’t make it and sources for those that did: twitter @mostlymedicaid .

Trystero: UBawo wathumela uNyana ukuba alondoloze ihlabathi

Soundtrack for today’s RoundUp pessimist readers- http://bit.ly/2SOAmxv

For optimist readers- http://bit.ly/2SQsxYf

OPIOID COURSE GETTING RAVE REVIEWS-– Want to understand the opioid crisis? Our newest online course will help. Check it out here- http://bit.ly/2WEL3G4

COME HANG OUT IN CHICAGO END OF APRIL- I’ll be speaking / chairing the 4^th Annual Medicaid Managed Care Leadership Summit, April 29-30^th in Chicago. If you are interested in going, send me a note so we can coordinate and I can also get you a 15% off registration. Check out the event here- http://bit.ly/2Hf1vYl

HMM, NOT SURE YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM MS. LIGHTFORD- Gifted health policy expert (and Democratic Illinois Senate Majority leader Kimberly Lightford) took to lambasting MCOs this week for “threatening the very future of our health care providers and the patients they serve all around this state.” Their crime? According to Lightford, excessive claims denials that are coming in around 26% (MCOs say its less than 11%). Compared to the 1-2% denial rate (aka as total failure to manage costs and just pay freakin everything) before the state implemented managed care, 11% suggests maybe there are at least a few more controls in place. But the real root cause – just maybe- is that the state of Illinois has been in default to the tune of billions to MCOs multiple times over the past several years. Hopefully the MCOs won’t get caught holding the bag for the dumpster fire that is Illinois state budget “management.”

IOWA WORK REQUIREMENTS BILL MOVES FORWARD- Would likely apply to the 172k members added as part of ACA, but if it goes like any of the rest of them have the vast majority will be exempt from the requirements.

 

TX SETTLEMENT WITH XEROX MAY ACTUALLY END UP COSTING LONESTAR STATE MORE THAN THE PAYOUT- Turns out when you pay the feds back their $133M (it is mostly federali money that states blow, remember?), and the whistleblowers (who may get $50M or so) and the attorneys, that $236M payout dwindles down pretty low. Clearly, its just not worth it to fight fraud, waste or abuse in Medicaid. Can we just pay everybody what they ask and move on to saving the world, please?

 

PROVIDERS NOT HAPPY TO BE MAKING LESS MONEY IN NY- Cuomo can’t seem to make up his mind. A few weeks back he was taking off some spending restrictions (the one where Medicaid payments have to come in under a healthcare inflation index), but this week he’s talking about taking $567M out of the Medicaid budget. And providers (mostly nursing homes and ambulance moguls) are ticked. If you haven’t ever worked closely with the ambulance lobby, you are not familiar with how dramatic they can be when their billing codes are under fire. According to the NY ambulance lobby, the proposed rate cuts create an “impending collapse of the statewide ambulance industry.” Uber for EMS, anyone?

 

KANSAS QUANTIFIES COSTS OF EXPANSION- Depending on if you believe the “Medicaid expansion as economic stimulus” argument, KS economists are pricing expansion somewhere between $520M to $1B over 10 years. Year 1 will have lawmakers passing the hat for about $47M more to cover expansion.

 

MAINE OPENS NEW CALL CENTER TO DEAL WITH EXPANSION APPLICATION VOLUME- Western Mainers will notice a new call center opening up this week to house 45 call reps. There are about $1M in new outreach costs for the recently passed expansion. Timing is good – Barclay’s is closing a call center end of this month, so at least some of the 200 people getting laid off there will be able to slide on over to the new Caid Call Center. That will be an interesting switch in scripts for the reps… going from “Hi, I’m calling about your Barclay’s card..” to “Hi, I’m calling about your Medicaid card..”

 

SHOW ME STATE CONSIDERING CHANGE TO POLICY ON PAYING FOR MEDICAID FOR INMATES- While many of you who work the Caid/criminal justice overlaps already know about the benefits of changing policy to just suspend Clay’s caid benefits when he goes in the slammer (vs terminating them), MO is clue-ing into this. It makes it easier to turn the benefits back on (and off and on and off depending on the recidivism profile of the bennie) once Clay gets back out. And it could help him stay free if it means he gets opioid treatment, help finding a job or various other things Medicaid is evolving to provide.

FARRIS’S FANTASTIC FRAUD FOLLIES– And now for everybody’s favorite paragraph. Let’s start the ticker and see who wins this week’s award. Everado Villareal and Delilah Robles of Mcallen, TX got charged with stealing $850K in TX Medicaid bucks. Their crime? A DME scheme in which they paid a partner to steal Medicaid bennie IDs so they could submit bogus claims for incontinence supplies. Eliza James of Lansing, MI stole $200k using her role as a state HHS worker. She would refer Medicaid members to providers she knew and then approve services for the members. Then the providers would deposit money in her account (so a basic kickback scheme). Steven Baraban of Kansas City stole $9.5M using a scam in which he got paid by MO Medicaid for pain creams and antibiotics that never made their way to members. A whistleblower got $1.5M on this one, by the way. Sort of a slow fraud week, but some interesting small time benny frauds in the Curator if you want to check them out. Mr. Baraban, you are the clear winner! Congratulations!

Need even more Medicaid fraud stories? – You can get your fix in the FWA Curator archives.

Want to read the articles summarized here, highlighted for your reading pleasure? Check out the News Curator archives.

That’s it for this week. As always, please send me a note with your thoughts to clay@mostlymedicaid.com or give me a buzz at 919.727.9231. Get outside (prepare garden beds; it won’t be long and we can plant!) and keep running the race (you know who you are).

FULL, FREE newsletter@ mostlymedicaid.com . News that didn’t make it and sources for those that did: twitter @mostlymedicaid .

Trystero: uBaba wathumela iNdodana ukusindisa umhlaba

Soundtrack for today’s RoundUp pessimist readers- http://bit.ly/2SgkS5m

For optimist readers- http://bit.ly/2XiLara

NEW ONLINE TRAINING COURSE IS OUT– Want to understand the opioid crisis? Our newest online course will help. Check it out here- http://bit.ly/2WEL3G4

YES, DOROTHY, WE ARE STILL IN KANSAS AND WE ARE STILL WAITING ON OUR MEDICAID APP TO BE PROCESSED AFTER STANDING IN LINE FOR 2 YEARS- A lot of the eligibility processing backlog has been handled, but there are still issues. New stories out this week give more depth to the issue, and it does look like Maximus (the eligibility processing vendor) doesn’t share all the time. But they are in over their heads. The SNAFU seems to have started when the vendor took on a new (to them) type of eligibility determination, related to long term care members. They had done the much more simple apps for kids and families for 20 years. There’s a really good article on this in this week’s News Curator, btw.

REASON #472 TO EXPAND MEDICAID: IT MAKES HOSPITALS EVEN RICHER- TransUnion Healthcare (a credit reporting agency trying to grow up into a broader info services role) released a report this week showing that Medicaid expansion can help add millions to hospital bottom lines (see this week’s soundtrack for a related song). The researchers reviewed thousands of cost reports to identify self-pay bad debts that could be covered by Medicaid if a state expanded.

QUESTION TO ALL THOSE #RESISTERS AGAINST WORK REQUIREMENTS- You keep talking about how hard it is for members to comply with reporting. Are you thus volunteering to make it easier in some way? Or are you really just continuing to beat your gums about how you think work requirements are just bad? Say what you mean, footsoldiers. Multiple regurgitated stories this week about how hard it is to call in, log on or in various other ways report that you tried to work if you were able to in Arkansas. I think Resisters know they lose the argument on whether its fair to ask those that can work to work, so they incessantly talk about challenges with reporting compliance. Yes, its hard. So roll up your sleeves and help out. Here’s an idea – ACA had gabillions in funding for “navigators” to help people sign up for coverage. Maybe repurpose those same staff to help people prove they are eligible to keep it?

TARHEEL GOOD GUVN’R TEASES EXPANSION- Cooper is now doing townhalls / expansion “roundtables” as of this week.

PINE TREE STATE EXPANSION TICKING AWAY NOW THAT LEPAGE IS OUT OF THE WAY- 6,000 bennies added to the Maine rolls since January.

FARRIS’S FANTASTIC FRAUD FOLLIES– And now for everybody’s favorite paragraph. Anita Ramiriz-Ambriz of McAllen, TX was convicted of stealing $4M Medicaid bucks almost 2 years ago, but yet again was able to delay sentencing this week (pro-tip for convicted fraudsters in here somewhere). Her crime? Getting paid for DME not provided. Head on up to Plattsburgh, NY for our next caper, in which Arshad Nazir and Muhammad Jahangir were convicted of Medicaid taxi-cab fraud (isn’t it great that this is a thing? Its become its own category in recent years). Messieurs Nazir and Jahangir pilfered a combined total of $567k by operating a kickback scheme. Medicaid patients were paid (often times with a bag of tobacco) to say they needed to get somewhere related to their health condition. The taxi companies then would get $230 (or so) for a “non emergency medical transportation ride.” Taxpayers, we truly are gullible fools. Skip on down to Durham, NC to check out Tamara McCaffity’s scheme. She was sentenced this week for stealing $900k using her mental health provider companies (one of them DBA “Dreamworks II,” which frankly is a great name. We should maybe start a new award category for best named bogus mental health provider companies. There have been some doozies over the years). McCaffity bought stolen Medicaid member IDs so she could submit bogus claims to Medicaid. And you, dear taxpayer, paid them (if you live in NC, you only paid about 30%. If you are outside of NC, you paid about 70% through the FMAP. See that whole “but its free federal money” silly argument goes both ways). Mrs. Ramiriz-Ambriz- you win this week’s award on technique alone. I am truly impressed that you have avoided sentencing for 2 years despite being convicted of Medicaid fraud. (Why do we even try to fight this stuff?)

Need even more Medicaid fraud stories? – You can get your fix in the FWA Curator archives.

Want to read the articles summarized here, highlighted for your reading pleasure? Check out the News Curator archives.

 

That’s it for this week. As always, please send me a note with your thoughts to clay@mostlymedicaid.com or give me a buzz at 919.727.9231. Get outside (plant asparagus – did you know it takes 2 years?) and keep running the race (you know who you are).

FULL, FREE newsletter@ mostlymedicaid.com . News that didn’t make it and sources for those that did: twitter @mostlymedicaid .

Trystero: Ntate o rometse Mora ho pholosa lefats’e.

Soundtrack for today’s RoundUp pessimist readers- http://bit.ly/2X0xroM

For optimist readers- http://bit.ly/2X0qqEz

NEW ONLINE TRAINING COURSE IS OUT– Want to understand the opioid crisis? Our newest online course will help. Check it out here- http://bit.ly/2WEL3G4

IDAHO DECIDES TO MEASURE IMPACT OF EXPANSION- Medicaid expansion is getting its very own budget item so it can be tracked precisely. I know about 30 states who wished they would have thought of this.

ALASKA BACKLOG OF APPLICATIONS GOING DOWN BUT STILL A PROBLEM- The Frontier State is struggling to scale its Medicaid program after expansion nearly doubled its rolls.

 MEDICAID ROLLS DECREASING IN SOME STATES; LEFTIES FORGET THE “BUT MEDICAID IS COUNTERCYCLICAL TO THE ECONOMY” LINE- To admit the economy is improving would admit The Duly Elected President of the United States of America (DEPOTUS) just might be helping rescue us from the disastrous economy he inherited. Such an admission is impossible for most in our Medicaid world. Other theories: re-enrollment apps are too many pages long (TN has 47 pages to fill out to get back on the rolls) or bennies re-applying have to wait on the phone lines too long (MO). Overall, Medicaid enrollment declined about 1.5% nationally last year. Which really isn’t that much when you realize it basically doubled in an 8-year period under ACA. So, class- Medicaid grew 100% in 8 years, then it took a 1.5% step back in the last year. (At this rate it would be 2120 before we got back to pre-ACA bennie levels). Let’s all FREAK OUT!!!! ORANGE MAN BAD! I’ll leave you with this quote from a TN Medicaid official – ““Tennessee is experiencing a state economy that continues to increase at what appears to be near-historic rates.”

 MICHIGAN WORK REQUIREMENTS BATTLE RAGES ON- The Good Guvn’r (the new one- Whitmer) is looking to undo the work requirements plans already approved by CMS. She has a new report with bigger numbers on how many will lose coverage if they don’t comply with the requirements. Pro tip for those wanting to undo work requirements already approved by elected (that word is put there to remind you that about 50% of voters disagree with you) officials: looks like you just need to know the right consulting firm to get the numbers you need to justify the reversal.

 

VOLUNTEER STATE STEPS FORWARD FOR BLOCK GRANTS- TN state reps filed 2 bills this week (1 in the house, 1 in the senate) to require the Medicaid agency to request a waiver from CMS to convert to a block grant program. 1^st shots fired. For history buffs wanting to chase a rabbit trail right this moment instead of doing whatever you are supposed to be doing at work, read the wiki page about an American hero involved in the first shots fired during the American Revolution- Crispus Attucks. For all you whippersnappers drinking the green kool-aid, the American Revolution was how this unique, wonderful country got started and began the beautiful, unique, one-of-a-kind story that is America. Thank you, Crispus, for your role in making this place awesome.

 

FARRIS’S FANTASTIC FRAUD FOLLIES– And now for everybody’s favorite paragraph. Let’s start the ticker and see who wins this week’s award. Manuel Barit of WV plead guilty to stealing $200k. His crime? Submitting claims for treating bennies when he was actually out of the country. The scam went on for six years. Ryan Sheridan of Austintown Township (Ohio) was charged with stealing $31M with bogus substance abuse treatment claims (DBA “Braking Point Recovery Center”). He and his buds operated recovery centers all over town. Lillian Richardson and Bridgett Burrel of Minnesota got convicted this week of stealing $7.7M in Medicaid bucks using five (count em’, five!) home care agencies they set up under the names of different family members. They submitted lots of bogus claims for helping disabled Medicaid members with daily tasks. Fun Fact- Richardson was convicted on a different Medicaid fraud in 2012 but pinky-swore to not do it again. Guess pinky swears are not what they used to be in 4th grade.  Mr. Sheridan – you win. $31M is a decent chunk of change, even for Medicaid fraud.

Need even more Medicaid fraud stories? – You can get your fix in the FWA Curator archives.

Want to read the articles summarized here, highlighted for your reading pleasure? Check out the News Curator archives.

That’s it for this week. As always, please send me a note with your thoughts to clay@mostlymedicaid.com or give me a buzz at 919.727.9231. Get outside (or stay inside and order seeds – its that time again) and keep running the race (you know who you are).

FULL, FREE newsletter@ mostlymedicaid.com . News that didn’t make it and sources for those that did: twitter @mostlymedicaid .

Trystero: Rama dikirim Putra ka ngahemat dunya.

Soundtrack for today’s RoundUp pessimist readers- http://bit.ly/2VYimnr

For optimist readers- http://bit.ly/2W235C3

ABOUT THAT WHOLE MEDICAID TRANSFORMATION IN NY THING. YEAH, LET’S STOP DOING THAT- After years of major overhaul efforts to transform its Medicaid program, Cuomo just pressed pause on the key device real driving change. For 8 years, NY has capped Medicaid spending to be within a 10-year rolling average of medical inflation. In this next budget, the Good Guvn’r decided to give Big Med (primarly hospitals) a pass and allow Medicaid spending to exceed the cap (3.1% is the cap; Cuomo is authorizing 3.6%). Why, you ask? As a pre-emptive strike (in his view) to shore up against federal changes coming to Medicaid. What federal changes? Reductions in DSH that were started when ACA passed (in 2010), but Big Med has been able to get delayed year after year.  Lefties, rejoice (and don’t forget to vote for him when he runs for Pres in 2020). Righties, observe yet another tax and spend Dem refusing to reform their ways (cuz, you know, they’re the good guys and your’e evil if you doubt that). Total Medicaid budget now that NY Medicaid is on a cheat-day? $19.6B (which is roughly the GDP of Botswana, and more than the GDP of 118 countries. For freakin’ Medicaid in NY, people).

HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE? MA TO POLL PATIENTS- Medicaid members in The Old Colony State will be asked to rate providers and plans for the first time. Results will be made public in 2020. From what I can tell this is basically a CAHPs-type survey. Results will also likely be used for value-based care payments.

SHAKEUP IN ARKANSAS NEMT- For readers keeping tabs on the Medicaid transportation scene: Southeastrans is picking up more regions as MTM will exit. Handover starts Feb 1.

JUST WHY ARE HOSPITALS IN VIRIGINIA SO EAGER TO BE TAXED? Why do hospitals exist? To help people AND to make money. When asked why they exist, what is the answer? “To help people.” They conveniently leave out that second part. When you put it back in, it makes a little more sense why VA hospitals are eagerly paying a “tax” to help fund the recent explosion (expansion) in Medicaid spending. State reps are getting their first taste of the “surprise” cost over-runs in the expansion they approved last year. This week new adjustments to expansion costs show at least $85M more than what they were told when they voted “yes”. Hospitals, those noble creatures they are, are running full press coverage highlighting how they are so, so happy to pay a tax to help fund expansion. Long time readers remember that Medicaid provider taxes are often a total sham described thusly: we pass the hat to hospitals, who all chip in money. We then beam up the hat to planet CMS, who puts in 6x more money (or 7x or whatever your fmap is), and then sends it back down. The state gets more cash, and so do the hospitals.

PALMETTO STATE JOINS RANKS OF WORK REQUIREMENTS REFORMERS- Looks like another 1115 app will be hitting the halls of 7500 Security Blvd in Balto soon (where planet CMS is). South Carolina is doing town halls on a work requirement proposal as of this week.

IMPLEMENTING BALLOTED (IS THAT A WORD?) EXPANSION PROVING TO BE HARDER THAN CHECKING A BOX ON VOTER CARD- Utah lawmakers are trying to figure out how to pay for the expansion approved by voters in November. There are 2 issues in play: 1) how to keep the limited expansion already in place going while applying for CMS to approve full / “standard” expansion we’ve all come to know and love; and 2) how to come up with numbers during the current budget cycle that at least try to pretend there’s a way the state can pay for it. A sales tax increase is projected to come up about $45M short in the next few years.

HOSPITALS AFRAID SETTING LIMITS ON MEDICAID SPENDING COULD HURT THEIR REVENUES- See earlier entry above about why hospitals exist. As CMS suggests states may find approvals for block grant waiver apps if they only ask, hospitals are going nuts in the press. Sky is falling, cutting spending will kill everyone- you know the dril by now. There are increasingly insightful quotes coming from Verma on this. Here’s a good lil’ nugget: “We also believe that only when states are held accountable to a defined budget can the federal government finally end our practice of micromanaging every administrative process.“ Hear, here!

IN A RELATED NOTE, GA WANTS MORE FREEDOM FROM FEDERALI MICROMANAGING FOR ITS CITIZENS’ HEALTHCARE NEEDS- The Good Guvn’r Kemp (who recently barely beat romance novelist Stacy Abrams) announced a $1M project to explore a waiver with CMS that would give the state more flexibility with its use of federal Medicaid dollars. No other details than that. You get to fill in the blanks (most fill them in with block grants based on early analysis). In a somewhat related news item, GA teachers will be getting a $3k raise this year.

PASSPORT STRUGGLING WITH NEW NORMAL IN KY- For those of you watching this MCO market, Passport has been unscuccessful in getting the state to budge on recent cap rate cuts that hit Passport particularly hard. Short version – state changed up regions and rates in a way that Passport got hammered. And Passport’s whole business is Medicaid. More to come.

CANARY IN COAL MINE IN AR? We all like to think we are special and unique. Medicaid programs are no different (see what I did there?). Arkansas cooked up yet another version of the “here’s how we’ll transition legacy behavioral health providers to a capitated rate” idea a few years back. (It’s an acronym that spells PASSE; did no one look that up in French?) Like most of these inititaives, year 1 starts out all nice and you get basically extra cash to play along and maybe do a little more case management than before. In year 2 you are expected to manage medical services, pay claims, etc (depending on the state). Well, ForeverCare sees the writing on the wall (or is chickening out if you listen to state officials) and is dropping out. They say they will come back in if the Phase II implementation date is moved to July 1. It has already slid from Jan 1 to March 1.

 

READY FOR MEDICAID INNOVATIONS 2019- I will be there again this year (my 9^th time), chairing one of the very best Medicaid events you can go to. Also, its sunny Florida in February (I’m looking at you, Michigan). If you decide to go, let me know and we can meet up. Check it out here – https://www.medicaidinnovations.com/

 

FARRIS’S FANTASTIC FRAUD FOLLIES– And now for everybody’s favorite paragraph. Let’s start the ticker and see who wins this week’s award- not so fast fraud junkies. No where near enough space this week. You can get your fix in the FWA Curator archives though.

Want all the highlighted news items from this week? Check it out here-Medicaid News Curator Volume 5

That’s it for this week. As always, please send me a note with your thoughts to clay@mostlymedicaid.com or give me a buzz at 919.727.9231. Get outside (buy or chop some firewood) and keep running the race (you know who you are).

FULL, FREE newsletter@ mostlymedicaid.com . News that didn’t make it and sources for those that did: twitter @mostlymedicaid .

Trystero: Baba alimtuma Mwana kuokoa ulimwengu.